Improved ditching-machine



To all whom 'it may .comieron 4 JAMES OALLIHAM.

or BATON Rouen, LOUISIANA, ASSIeNoR To DAVID n "oALLIHAM, or SAME PLAcn.

Letters Patent No. 100,597, dated March 8', 1870.

' IMPRovEn encarna- Macallan j The `Schedule xeferredto in these Letters Patent and making part of the sanie- -Be it known; that I, JAMEs OALLIHAM, of Baton Rouge, Avoyelles Parish, and State of Louisian'a, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ditchers; and Ido hereby declare Vthat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the saine,- lreference being had vto' thev accompanying drawings making Aa V,part of this specification, in whichvFigure l is a side elevation, and .Ffgur 2V is aplanview with arportien of the top of 'theinclosing'frame broken away, so as to show inpart the digging'and elevatingjapparatus. This inventionI consists ofan apparatus for digging a ditch, andthrowing-.up' aflever'at` one and the same time, said apparatus being operated b y steam-engines `which it carries, and being drawn forward by av steamengine placed upon aseparate truck, which carries a steam-boiler Yfor supplying Yall the Aengines. with t Iu'the drawings- A is Vthe `,sng'inee-tmck which is "fiiitended ltobe propelled Somewhat after thei-.Inannerof an ordinary 10- comotive, -by means; ofone or (more steam-engines.`

It has wiudlass, a, and hand-wheel mounted near i its front 'end in vertical standards, said windlassbing .connected by. ropes-with a tongue, al', projecting forward from .the front axle..v 1

`Byrrotating the `windlassto.'the proper hand, the

direction of the engine-truck may be changed by inclining the front axle and Wheels to the line of progress to a greaterwoi- 'lesser degree, as may be derlhe driving-wheels of the engine-truck are to be made with broad rims, so as "to adapt them to move upon the earthwhether wet or dry. j

The engine-truck is coupled with the ditching apparatus in any convenient manner. The ditching apparatus rests upon'a frame which is supported upon foul' wheels B, and is iuclosed within a casing, B', whose foundation is the aforesaid frame.

.The front axle is inclined to `the right or left in a similar manner as the frontaxlc of the engine-truck.

. Uponthe top of the casing B4 are three steam-.enf

gine cylinders, b c d, which are all supplied with steam trom theiboiler A through the pipe e.

`The shaft C, whlich'isrotated by the reciprocation of the pistou-of the cyliuderb through the medium of the connecting-rod` b' andv crank7 h,is provided 'with a number of knives, h, arranged in a straight row along that part of it iuclosed within the casing B', and an equal number of shovel-like tools hf" also ranged in va straight row, but projecting from the shaft in an opposite direction to the knives h.

'.lhe shovels dig upthe earth into which they pen- 4 etrate, and the knives cut roots and other material notseverable bytheshovels. v l

The earthtaken up by these instruments falls upon an inclinedapron, "i, which extends across the lower partvoflthe casing B in rear of and beneath the shaft C .A r

.Frouithis apron the earth is swept by fans I c proi jecting-in-rows-in two opposite directions from' ashaft D placed-parallel to the shaft O in rear and above it,

and driven by a band passing` around it and the shaft g C, Vor around wheels situated on both shafts.

The `fans" k sweep the earth vupon an endless apron, l, placed on the two parallel transverse shafts E E', the lower i. one of which is operated by a rod, m, oonuec'ting the crank'm' of theshaft E with the piston of.'

the steam-cylinder c. Y

By this means the shaft E is rotated, and gives motion to the endless apron l. From the latter the earthfalls on a second inclined endless apron, n, whose line of travel is at right angles with that'of the apron l, and which is placed upon shafts F F located in the proper direction in the rear part ofthe casing B', one near its bottom, and the other near its top.

'lh'e lower of these shafts F is operated by steam in the cylinder cl in like manner as the other shafts, and the upper one F'is'driven by a band mot-ion fromfthe lower shaft.` y

lh'e apron n discharges its burden to the left of the apparatus, as the; latter progresses, and thus either` formsor repairs a levee.

The apron n is intended to be so constructed that it may be raisedor lowered to suit the did'ereut elevation of levees. Y

.The shaft C, with its shovels and knives, digs the ditch, and the apron n builds the levees all at the same operation. l

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the ditching and lcveeiug apparatus herein described with the truck A, when the latter carries thevboiler that supplies steam both l for drawing and operating the whole apparatus, substa tially as described, I 2. The shaft C, provided with the shovels h" and knives h, in combination with the shaft D, provided with the fans k, aud with the inclined apron fi, all arranged and operating substantially as described.

3. The combination of the subject of the second claim with the endless aprons ln, arranged as and for Witnesses:

Taos. H. Mamas, W. B. Goornn.

which receive its 

